It has become a matter of scale. To date, some 31 export wood pellet mills are in various stages of development or operation in the US South, all looking to load and ship a potential 12 million tons of product annually from limited port facilities.

Access to loading is now "top of the list" with raw wood resource issues in due diligence exercises for developers looking to feed an increasingly hungry European pellet market. Companies are jockeying for position in the "sweet spots" where wood baskets are strong but close to ports, and the gaps are closing.

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